The North American FJ-2/-3/-4 Fury were a series of swept-wing
carrier-capable fighters for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Based
on the United States Air Force's
F-86 Sabre, the FJ-series
Fury aircraft featured folding wings and, eventually, a longer nose landing
strut designed to both increase angle of attack upon launch and to absorb
the shock of hard landings on an aircraft carrier deck. Although sharing a
U.S. Navy designation with its distant predecessor, the straight-winged FJ-1
Fury, the FJ Fury evolved into a wholly different aircraft.

Design And Development

FJ-2

By 1951, the Navy's existing straight-wing fighters were much inferior
in performance to the
swept-wing
Soviet MiG-15 then
operating in the Korean War; the swept-wing fighters in the Navy's
development pipeline, including the F7U Cutlass and F9F Cougar were not yet
ready for deployment. As an interim measure, Navy purchased three swept-wing
F-86E Sabres with
Navy-specific equipment and strengthened airframes. The three planes began
flight testing in December 1951 under the designation XFJ-2. The design was
eventually put into production as the FJ-2, but construction was slowed due
to demand for the F-86 in Korea; the FJ-2 was not produced in large numbers
until after that conflict had concluded. By then, because of a weak nose
gear and arrestor hook on the FJ-2, the Navy preferred the F9F Cougar due to
its superior slow-speed performance for carrier operations, and the 200 FJ-2
models built were delivered to the United States Marine Corps.

FJ-3

Click on Picture to enlarge

FJ-3s of VMF-235 in 1957

An FJ-4B with six rocket pods

FJ-4F prototype with an additional rocket motor

FJ-1 and FJ-2 in 1952

4 FJ-3 Fury
fighter-bombers of VF-33 and an AD-6 of VA-25 on the deck of the USS Intrepid (CVA-11)
in the North Atlantic in 1957.

A Fury
displayed on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid museum ship.

The development of the FJ-3, which was to be powered by a
license-built version of the new Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojet,
resulted in its first flight in July 1953. Deliveries began in September
1954, and the FJ-3 joined the fleet in May 1955. An FJ-3 was the first
fighter to land aboard the new supercarrier USS Forrestal in 1956. A
total of 538 FJ-3s were built, including 194 FJ-3Ms with the ability to
carry AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. Some FJ-3s were later modified
to control Regulus and F9F-6K Cougar target drones. In 1955 the Navy added
the new wing design that had been successful on the F-86F, providing space
for additional fuel, and in 1956 retro-fitted all its FJ-3s with
probe-and-drogue air refueling equipment.

FJ-4

The final versions of the Fury were the FJ-4 and FJ-4B, which featured
several improvements on previous versions. Internal fuel capacity was
increased, necessitating a distinctive, taller "razorback" rear deck. The
tail was modified, as were the wings, to provide more positive control and
stability during carrier landings, and the landing gear was widened.
Delivery of FJ-4s began in February 1955, and except for one squadron which
trained Navy FJ-4B pilots, FJ-4s were used exclusively by the Marine Corps.
The FJ-4B was a fighter-bomber version, capable of carrying double the
underwing stores, including nuclear weapons on a single station. A total of
152 FJ-4s and 222 FJ-4Bs were produced.

Re-designation

With the new designation system adopted in 1962, the FJ-4 became the
F-1E and the FJ-4B the AF-1E. AF-1Es served with United States Naval Reserve
units until the late 1960s. The FJ Fury was the first aircraft of the VF-84
incarnation of the legendary Jolly Rogers Squadron. A total of 1,115 Furies
were received by the Navy and Marine Corps over the course of its production
life.